President Barack Obama spent a good deal of the lengthy press conference he held on Friday, December 21st taking a look back at 2013, but nonetheless kept returning to the issue he hopes is going to finally get some resolution in the New Year – that of immigration reform.
Obama admits that immigration reform was the biggest item on his agenda that he wanted to see dealt with in 2013, but suggests that there lies great potential for a major breakthrough in the coming months, suggesting that John Boehner, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, may be getting ready to finally make a move on preparing a mammoth overhaul of the immigration system in the United States.
“There are indications in the House that even though it did not get completed this year, that there is a commitment on the part of this Speaker to try to move forward legislation early next year,” Obama informed reporters at the White House. “And the fact that it didn’t hit the timeline that I’d prefer is obviously frustrating, but it’s not something that I end up brooding a lot about.”
Obama says he still hopes that the sweeping immigration bill that was passed by the Senate back in June could become the basis for immigration reform soon. The Republican Party is under a great deal of pressure to try to improve its standing with Hispanic voters before the next Presidential elections in 2016.